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Z8 luggage....

I'm very happy to report that for members of the Z8 Club there is some really well made luggage available - follow this thread o get to the details.

I was originally going to try to make some luggage here in the US, but the Club's bags follow very closely my desires and there is no way to compete with the quality of Italian leatherwork from the house who make Ferrari & Bugatti's luggage. It is almost as good as Hermes, the wife's fav!

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

I'm very familiar with Taris, and had spoken to him a couple of years back about doing a set of Z8 luggage, but our small and oddly shaped trunk just isn't well suited to the construction of his lovely hard cases.

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

The custom fit luggage would be a welcome addition to our Z8 since most of my time in the car is on various trips away from home.

I do, however, have one question. I know this may sound a little "out there", but I had to ask anyway.
Due to the geographic location, some of our trips require travel in some pretty desolate areas so I feel much more comfortable having a few tools in the boot - just in case. Did you consider the possibility of making provisions for a small custom "tool box" suitable for such basic tools as a socket set, screwdrivers, oil bottle, etc.? It could have a "utilitarian" (read - plastic box) interior rather than a luggage type interior. This could be accommodated in a couple of ways:
1) Make the two top pieces slightly smaller with a custom "toolbox" size piece fitting between them. This would essentially make the boot luggage 4 pieces rather than 3.
2) Make an additional "tool box" that takes the place of one of the top pieces. This would maintain the 3 piece setup in the boot, but would provide a 4th piece to select which piece (luggage or toolbox) to take with you.
3) Making a small box that fits in the outer odd shaped portions of the boot (either left or right). Still a 4th box, but would make one of the top pieces more boxy and less odd shape.

Any way you look at it, this may be a box you carry along anytime as a stand alone piece. Anyone else see this as worthwhile?

I've got an AAA premium card, and put all the tool stuff I do carry under the trunk floor. In the days I rode motorbikes I could actually fix them, but if anything goes on the Z8 I wouldn't have a clue what to do, so a tow truck is my only hope!!

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

Count me in...

for all 5 pieces, but once again it boils down to price. Obviously, when we discussed this before, full leather was rather expensive. I talked to a fellow at the Spring meeting who was from the Netherlands and he had a custom leather covered hard cover set of luggage made for his Z8 (topaz blue too). I did not have my camera when talking to him but it was very, very similar to what you have sketched and he had embossed with the Z8 logo on the slanted top piece, lined with some soft but durable fabric. He said he had a custom leather luggage shop make the pieces (4 for the trunk - one square deep, one top slanted top, two side pieces). He said they cost in the realm of 5000 Euros .

Criticism of the pieces include mainly the price is just not practical, but also, the design he had really did not hold very much and as far as including stuff for the lady of the car (read : shoes and handbags), not much room at all. He was stuffing things around the edges etc..

I personally like the design you have with 3 large pieces in the boot and two behind the seats, but remember, for those of us who are shorter, the seat will be farther forward and the pieces behind the seat may fall forward (having a strap to snap to the hoop would solve the problem of it sliding forward??).

In order to contain cost (quality leathers can be expensive but also heavy), I would suggest having leather edges and bottoms to protect it, but then a nice lightweight nylon fabric color matched to the interior or exterior. Most likely look just as elegant but save considerably on the cost. The soft side would be more "stuffable" too and maybe better able to carry more without having to resort to what the Dutch fellow did by stuffing his shoes in the corners of the trunk.

Another thought on the design is this....

One problem on the deep piece with a slanted top is that they both are so shallow that the just do not hold very much clothing. For the average 4 - 5 day trip with maybe two people, there is just not much.

One solution is to go with a standard duffle type to fit the deep well but up to the trunk lid. Then a second thinner piece standing on end but slightly taller behind it against the back wall of the trunk. Then you would be able to stuff the duffle with enough clothes, etc. for two, and have two smaller side pieces for each person (toiletries, or small tool kit or in Andrew's case -- extra camera stuff).

All the three pieces in the trunk are only 6" high, so it isn't a ton of room, but it uses the space as efficiently as possible while keeping the bag shapes attractive. The two top bags are flat to accommodate our beloved soft-top tonneaus, and allow a couple of soft jackets to be thrown on top too. There is also quite a lot of 'stuffing space' on the sides of both the upper and lower bags for odds and ends. I had also thought about embossing the Z8 logo, but since we will be offering these for sale I didn't want to risk attracting the attention of BMW's trademark legal beagles.

Good thought on the strap looping over the roll hoops to keep the cabin bags in place, I'll certainly add that in once I get the costs and realities in from our maker. The best leather will run us around $15 sq ft, and believe it or not we'll use around 50 sq ft for a full set when you add in the straps etc! Add the cost of fabrication etc, and it adds up fast, but I'm looking to keep the cost of the full set under $2500.

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

Andrew if you have some interest I can send you pix of the MB luggage I had in my 1957 300SL roadster. My set had a beautiful plaid interior, It may have some interest for you. My set was an original factory option. However there was a fellow making near perfect repros here in the late 80 and 90's when lots of folks where restoring Gullwings. I might be able to track the info down. There is one other source close by me, if you recall Scott of Scott's restoration is a neighbor.
Nice project!
Robbie

Thanks Robbie, please do send over the pix, and if you can ask about the maker that would be great too, as the guy I've been talking too still won't commit to doing it as he is only a handbag manufacturer.

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

Andrew, those are the folks that I had mentioned a while back. They have been making great bags, that are custom fit to the car, for years. I have a set for my Z3 and they seem great although I probably did not need them as i travel very light. RB will be sharing the Z Series Car Club of America booth at Roadster Homecoming 2008 in a few weeks.

Roadster Solutions www.roadstersolutions.com makes garmet bags that hang behind the seat. I'll try mine in the 8 and see if it fits and let you know.

I am of the same opinion....

I like the Roadsterbag idea but thought the 9 bag solution was a bit much too. I communicated to them that maybe a 7 or 8 bag solution would be the most (x2 bags behind the seat, x1 large in the bottom well, x2 bags above that, x2 bags for the little side space (toiletries for example) and then x1 bag for underneath storage. They were talking about dividing the bottom well into 2 bags, but that seems they would be too small and thus not hold much. I would like to see on in person too, they look good quality and value and they told me they would notify me as soon as they have their prototypes made.

I am certainly not set on a set from Roadsterbag but as Jurgen pointed out tonight, this is who the Club has been dealing with, so I am inclined to see what their product looks like and at what price point. Same goes for the 3 piece sent Andrew is referring to.

So Andrew,
What are your initial thoughts on the Z8 Club's luggage proposal? I could not make out the color of the leather from the e-mail or whether there was a contrasting color with stitching etc. Do you have additional or more specific information?

Just to give you a few more details. The color is a dark grey. Not black and not light grey. There are two different types of leather as you can see on the picture. One has a bit more structure than the other and the stitching is a lighter shade than the color of the leather. I hope the picture will help.

Overall I really like the proposal for the Z8 Club's luggage, and I'm very keen on it for myself, once I see where the year end and next year's toy budget look I'd like to order a set for myself. The only thing I don't love is the mismatched bags that go behind the seats. I like satchel, it looks both practical and plastic seat-backing friendly.

This beautiful set from the same company who make Ferrari's luggage shown above, show yet again the wonderful dedication of the Club to improving the quality of Z8 ownership. For those of you who aren't yet members here is a glimpse of what you're missing...

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.

I'm going to take the plunge for the beautiful Z8 Club set, the toy budget for '09 will allow one car splurge for next year even with all the terrible economic news. This will also mean that my plan to make luggage here in the US is permanently shelved, so I deleted all the reference to it here so there can be no confusion.

Andrew Macpherson

Expert Z8 Inspections, with full support for both Z8 sale and purchases.